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Blutengel
Can
a dark melancholy atmosphere and a catchy
Pop musical appeal go hand in hand? When
listening to Blutengel, the answer has to
be a definitive “yes.” Evolving
out of the fetish-Electro-project Seelenkrank
in 1998, the group around mastermind Chris
Pohl, one of the scene’s most prolific
workaholics, was planned as a crossover
of genres and emotions right from the start.
Elements of electronic Pop music and Euro
Dance are delicately mingled with the symbolism,
the themes and the romantic appeal of the
Gothic novel and the classic horror film.
Add to that a wee bit of fetish eroticism
and you get a catchy and highly addictive,
yet alluring mixture. That the “dark
side”, if presented in the right fashion,
can have a solid mass appeal should become
clear to anyone who looks into the success
story of the vampire motif in the pop culture
of the 20th and 21st century. In Blutengel’s
music, dark imagery and romantic horror
stories about vampires, death and the quest
for eternal life are set to a musical backdrop
that – be it dance- oriented or basking
in pompous elegies - will have you hooked
instantly.
Blutengel
draw a lot of their special appeal from
the canny interplay of the sexes. Chris
Pohl’s female band mates manage to
always set an intriguing counterpoint to
his glittering presence, both optically
and acoustically. In the ten years past,
Chris was the only constant member of the
group, but he has always been able to surround
himself with equally charismatic counterparts.
From
the first album, “Child of Glass”,
Blutengel was a highly successful endeavour
… and Chris Pohl has been able to
increase his following with each subsequent
release. After album number 2 “Seelenschmerz”
was released in 2001, the demand for live
shows of Blutengel became so great that
Chris decided that he would have to take
the group to the stage. The band had its
debut stage performance at the Wave Gotik
Treffen 2001 in front of 10000 bewildered
fans and has since become one of the most
wanted live acts from the “dark scene”,
playing all over the globe and being a regular
name at all the major European festivals.
The
next album “Angel Dust” proved
that Blutengel’s approach was able
to reach an audience far larger than that
confined to the limited boundaries of the
Gothic scene. The CD instantly shot to the
Top 100 of the German Media Control Charts.
All following releases: “Demon Kiss”
(2004), “No Eternity” (2004),
“Oxidising Angel” and the live
DVD “Live Lines” were instant
chart breakers. Blutengel have managed what
other acts can merely dream of: they have
arrived in the mainstream without letting
any major record company or management twist
or change their style … and with an
image that stands in harsh contrast to all
the boring and bland casting show products.
In
December 2006, they released the single
“My Saviour” which contained
2 tracks with a distinctive hit appeal and
which managed to instantly hit the Media
Control Charts Top 100 yet again …
in a time of year where all major labels
tend to send their biggest names into the
competition for the X-Mas sales. Blutengel
are now working hard on their next album
… and an extensive world tour is also
in the works. On Friday, the 13th of July,
2007 the band released its next single “Lucifer”
in two limited versions, with the new long-playing
album "Labyrinth" following shortly
after - an album that is easily their most
versatile and complex work to date.
2008
marked a very special year for the Dark
Pop legend, as Blutengel were celebrating
their tenth anniversay this year. The kicked
it off with the ultra-limited 7" vinyl
single "Winter of my Life" - of
which all 500 copies sold out in a buzz
- and which was also released as a download
in all major online shops. Sporting one
of their strongest tracks ever, this single
showed Blutengel at their absolute best.
But this was not all, of course, and so
a new live DVD, aptly titled "Moments
of Our Lives" was released at the end
of August, 2008 in three versions: a regular
double DVD as well as two limited editions,
both containing an extra live CD and the
deluxe FanBox adding an exclusive T-shirt
to the package. The DVD contains one show
that is a montage from footage from four
different shows, thus conveying real tour
feeling. Disc two contains a myriad of extras,
behind the scene footage and is a fan's
dream come true. But Blutengel are not stopping
here.
The
single "Dancing In The Light"
was released in two limited version with
different track listings and artwork at
the end of 2008 - an enthraling appetizer
for the new album "Schwarzes Eis"
which was released as a double CD (incl.
the instrumental concept album "Behind
The Mirror") and as a strictly limited
3-CD-box (which also includes a full third
album titled "Redemption") in
February, 2009. On its most ambitious and
versatile album, the group combines the
best elements from all their previous releases
and carefully takes its sound into uncharted
territory without sacrificing its own identity.
The catchy, dark Blutengel-sound has matured
elegantly ... and yet sounds as fresh and
new as it did on "Seelenschmerz."
At
the end of 2009, the band gave their fans
another treat in form of the limited CD-release
"Soultaker" and in summer 2010,
Blutengel played their most ambitious live
show to date at the Amphi Festival, featuring
a full dance choreography from the Quilla
Dance Theatre. Currently, they are working
on new material, which is scheduled for
release in 2011. At the end of 2010, the
group released the exclusive single “Promised
Land”, which sold out in no time,
while Chris started working on the follow-up
album to “Schwarzes Eis” simultaneously.
A first appetizer was released on January
21st, 2011, in form of “Reich mir
die Hand”. The single instantaneously
entered the German charts at #81. The album
“Tränenherz” followed on
February 18th and catapulted the band to
a sensational 12th place in the German album
charts. The release was followed by a sold-out
German tour and on April 15th, the group
released the second single off their new
album, one of their catchiest songs to date:
“Über den Horizont”.
The
future is looking bright for the pioneers
of Gothic Pop who are out on a limb once
again to prove to the world that Pop music
and Fantasy are an addictive combination
and that there is a lot to discover beyond
the realms of hollow “boy meets girl”
formulas.
German
version
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